Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcantara has been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool this summer, and it would be smart of the Reds to capture him now rather than later.
The current state of play
The 29-year-old central midfielder has just one year left on his contract at the Allianz Arena and Die Roten’s CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed that he would be leaving Bavaria this summer.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have appeared to be front runners for a while. Although there is no guarantee about this due to the situation with the club’s finances, having seen a deal fall through for RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner.
But the former Barcelona ace, where he won the Champions League in 2011, is looking for a new challenge and has been admired by Klopp in the past.
Can Liverpool sign Thiago this summer?
Yes, get the deal done Edwards
No, will be too expensive
The report initially came from the Argentinian news outlet VarskySports, who predicted an early agreement in July between the two clubs. The ever-reliable James Pearce from The Athletic stated that it is ‘one to keep an eye on‘.
However, Paul Gorst of the Liverpool Echo stated that he had been told on ‘two separate occasions’ that Thiago is not being pursued, and that he would not bet on him joining Liverpool.
Bargain of the century
Bayern are keen to get a fair price for Thiago and it is in their best interests not to see him leave for free next summer, which is understandable. If negotiations fall through at this stage, it is highly unlikely that Liverpool will go back in for him after what happened with Nabil Fekir.
For £27m and for someone with the amount of experience and maturity that the Spain international possesses, it is a no-brainer, and would certainly fill the void that Adam Lallana has left.
The Reds need to improve their squad. As James Milner said, if the team are at the same level next season, it will not be good enough to retain their Premier League crown.